Shower bath cabinet



May 13, 1941. P. w. KERR SHOWER BATH CABINET Original Filed Oct. s, 19362 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Paul W. Kerr BY W m4.

ATTORNEY May 13, 1941. P. w. KERR 2,241,860

SHOWER BATH CABINET Original Filed 001;. 5, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VIIJ5" Z7 INVENTOR N .22 Paul W Kerr 3.3 7 25 Z9 Mi/4m Z6 ATTORNEY PatentedMay 13, 1941 SHOWER BATH CABINET I Paul 'W. Kerr, Elkhal't, Ind.,auignor to Weir Manufacturing Company, Inc., Elkhart,

Original application October 5, 1938, SerialNo.

Divided and this application January 12, 1939, Serial No. 250,487

6 Claims. (CL 189-2) This invention relates to shower bath cabinets, andamong other objects aims to provide a leakprooi knock-down sheet metalshower cabinet which can be produced at lower cost than heretofore andwill have a quality and decorative appearance in harmony with standardbath room design.

The nature of the invention may be readily understood by reference toone construction embodying the invention and illustrated in the acl0companying drawings.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shower cabinet;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section or a on the plane 2-2 of Fig. 1: I

Fig. 3 is a vertical section above the entrance to the cabinet and takenon the plane 3-4 of of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan section on an enlarged scale taken through a corner ofthe cabinet on the plane 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the corner construction taken onthe plane I5 01 Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the plane 2 6-8 of Fig. 4:

Fig. '7 is a vertical section through the door sill taken on the plane1--1 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a vertical section through the base of the cabinet taken onthe plane 8-8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the receptor bottom; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a form of doorframe construction which may be employed if the front oi. the cabinet befaced by conventional wall surfacing such as plaster or tile. Thesection corresponds to the plane Ill-l0 of Fig. 1.

Knock-down sheet metal shower cabinets possess many advantages over theconventional built-in shower cabinets characterized by marble or otherslab side walls and terrazo or similar receptors. To be acceptable asequipment for the better classes of bathrooms, such sheet metal cabinetsmust harmonize with standard bathroom design. The illustrative showercabinet possesses all the advantages inherent in knockdown sheet metalshower cabinets; yet its design is such as to render it capable for useas equipment in the highest class of installments.

As here shown, the shower bath cabinet comprises the receptor Illforming the fioor of the cabinet, and sheet metal side wall sections llforming the cabinet enclosure except for the doorway l2. The latter maybe closed either by 55 detail taken 15 a curtain or door. as desired.The receptor advantageously rests upon a base It, whose height ispreferably sufiicient to accommodate both the dish of the receptorbottom It and. the drain outlet fixture II, which is connected to thereceptor bottom at its lowest point. The base It .is here shown ofchannel section and the receptor is centered thereon by downwardlyprojecting brackets I6 welded or brazed as at ll to the bottom of thereceptor. An outwardly bent resilient tongue It struck from the bracketis adapted to spring under the upper edge ll of the base when thereceptor is seated to lock the latter to the base.

Both the side walls and the receptor are designed to be finished inporcelain or other enamel, preferably to harmonize in color with theother bathroom fixtures. ably used for the better grade of cabinets,since this is a standard finish for other bathroom fixtures. It has notbeen practicable heretofore to employ porcelain enamel on sheet metalshower cabinets. The firing oi the enamel caused warping of the edge ofthe sheets and it was impossible to iorm leak-proof Joints between thevarious sections of the cabinet to say nothing of chippin and crackingof the enamel in assembling a cabinet. The present construction providesa shower cabinet quite as leakprooi as ordinary shower cabinets and atthe same time possesses quality and finish comparable to other standardbathroom fixtures.

Both the receptor and side walls are formed of sheet enamelling iron orsteel, 16 to 14 gauge metal being satisfactory for a receptor and asomewhat lighter gauge, 20 to 16 gauge, being satisfactory for the sidewalls. The side walls are here shown formed in three sections, namely,two side sections 20 and a back section 2i. The side sections are hereshown including the front wall portions 22, which are formed to providethe side stiles 23 of the door opening. To facilitate coating withporcelain enamel, it is sometimes desirable to make separate front, sideand rear sections,in which event each vertical comer will be providedwith a common joint.

The sheet metal side walls are preferably finished by an enamel coatingof an appropriate color. For the better grades of cabinets, the coatingis vitreous porcelain enamel or its equivalent which may be applied toadvantage by the so-called wet process. In this process, a ground orgrip coat is sprayed or otherwise applied to the sheet metal surfacesand either dried at room temperatures or in a drying oven for about anPorcelain enamel is preierside wall margins. material serve to seal thejoint between the side wall margins and the corner strip 43.

hour and a half at a temperature of about 150; F. The gro ind coat isthen burned or fired in an enamelling oven for about six minutes atabout 1550 F.

All margins, inside and out, of the side walls are preferably coatedwith so-called flexible enamel which, at the present time, is availablewise applying enamel material which will burn to the desired color.Preferably the coats are each successively dried and fired. This insuresthat the final or top coat will obliterate any imperfections in theunderlying coat. After drying and before flrlng,'the finish coatings areremoved along the margins so as to leave a uniform width of black marginvisible. To fire the enamel, the articles are placed in an enamellingoven and subjected to temperatures of about.

1600 F. for about six minutes. The greater flexibility, of the blackenamel on the margins allows the latter to flex slightly without dangerof breaking or cracking the enamel finish.

The lower margins of' the side walls are bent inwardly as at 24 andterminate with a downwardly projecting flange 25, which is seated in aframe 26 embracing the upper edge 21 of the receptor side walls 28 (seeFig. 6). Frame 26 is advantageously of-sheet metal formed to provide achannel 29 for the side wallflange 25, and another channel 30 forfitting over the receptor side walls. The margin 21 of the receptor sidewalls is preferably offset inwardly so that the outer face 3| of theframe is flush with the outer face of the receptor side wall 28. Theframe is here shown provided with an inwardly bent terminal flange 32which rests upon the offset 33 of the receptor. The channel 29 in theframe is advantageously filled with a plastic cement 34 or plasticcaulking compound which flows around the flange 25. when it is insertedin the channel and serves to seal the channel against the entrance ofmoisture.

A door sill 35 covers that portion of the frame 25 which extends acrossthe doorway. The sill is provided with'a downwardly projecting flange 36which is seated in the channel 29. Downwardly projecting end flanges 31carried by the sill are connected by bolts or rivets 38 to the stilefaces 23, The inner edge of the sill is finished by a downwardlyextending flange 39.

As here shown, the joints between adjacent side wall sections arelocated at the corners of the cabinet. The adjacent margins 40 of the 3side wall sections (see Fig. 4) are inwardly offset at 4|, and the space42 between them is spanned by. a corner strip 43, which extends acrossthe margins 49 and is provided with outwardly bent side margins 44extending behind the offsets 4| to prevent the separation ordisplacement of the Gaskets 45 of semi-plastic kets are clamped betweenthe side wall margins and the corner strip 43 by an outer cornermember'45, whose flanges 4'! lie behind and engage The gasthe side wallflanges. and which is drawn toward the corner strip by clamping means.The clamping means are here shown in the form of hookshaped 'cam lugs 46carried by the corner strip 43 and a slotted locking strip 49 associatedwith the outer corner member. In the present case, the corner member 46,which is made ofrelatively thin sheet metal; carries a slotted cornerbar 50 whose side margins 5| extend under the folded over flanges 41 ofthe corner member. The slots 52 in the bar 50 are of suflicient lengthto admit the lugs 48, and when the latter have been passed through theslots, they are engaged by the slotted locking strip 49 which actsagainst the inclined or beveled faces 53 of the lugs 48 to create theaforesaid clamping action between the corner strip 43 and the outercorner member 46. To apply the -corner strip 43, the locking strip 49 ismoved so that its slots 54 register with the slots 52 in the corner bar.After the lugs 48 have been passed through the registered slots,

.the locking strip 49 may be driven down from the'top of the cabinet tocreate the aforesaid clamping action.

Clamping pressure is maintained not only by the resilience of the coverstrip 43 and the bar 50 but by that of the side wall margins 40 whichare generally slightly warped in firing. The flexible black enamel onthese margins allows flex- By these means the joints are not onlyinitially rendered leak-proof but, what is more important, aremaintained leak-proof throughout the life of the cabinet.

The corner bar 50 terminates short of the bottom of the comer member 46to accommodate a bottom fitting 55 (see Fig. 5) which is inserted underthe folded over flanges 41 and is connected to the corner member 46 inany appropriate way such as welding or by prick-punching the flanges 41into the metal of the fitting. The latter is inwardly directed as at 56and provided with a downwardly extending angular flange 51 (in alignmentwith the flanges 25) which is seated in the channel 29 across the cornerof the receptor. The inwardly offset portions 56 of the member 55 areoverlapped by the ends 58 (Fig. 4) of the offset portions 24-0f the sidewalls. Preferably such ends are upwardly and inwardly oifset as at 59(Figs. 4 and 6) by an amount equal to the thickness of the inwardlydirected portion 56 and flange 51. The overlapping of the bottom fitting55 by the side margins of the side walls, as aforesaid. avoids thepossibility of any leakage at this point. It should be understood,however, that this joint is not directly exposed to water. Onlycondensation is likely to reach the space behind the corner strip 43 andthis runs down and into the receptor with no tendency to travellaterally.

The corner strips 43 are advantageously provided with locking members inthe form of hooks 60 which engage the under face of the offset portions33 of the receptor, thereby firmly locking the cabinet side walls to thereceptor.

The upper edge of the cabinet is advantageously finished by a frame 6|formed with a channel 62 fitting over the upper edge of the side wallsand an inwardly extending molding 63 of rectangular section. If desired,a sheet metal top 64 may be placed upon the molding 63 and conso-calledstop therefor.

nected to its flanges 66 by screws 66. The upper edges of the sidewalls-are preferably notched as at6'l at a plurality of points (seeFigs. 2 and 3), so that, if desired, wood screws 68 or the like may bedriven through the frame 6| into the building walls, without requiringthe drilling of the metal of the side walls. Such notched portions 61are concealed by the channel 62 of the frame. Preferably, the metal ofthe frame indented or otherwise marked at points 69 in registry with thenotches, so that the metal may be drilled at the proper points if it bedesired to employ anchoring screws '68. would be hidden from below bythe molding 63 even if no top 64 were used.

The top 64 is advantageously provided with a marginal flange I spacedfrom the front and side walls a distance equivalent to the thickness ofthe conventional wall plaster or other wall surfacing. If it be desiredto extend curtain walls from the upper edges of the cabinet to theceiling of the room, this can be easily done by attaching metal or otherlath H to the flanges 10 of the top (which are preferably perforated asat 12 for this purpose). The lath may, thereupon, be coated with plasterI3 flush with the face of the cabinet.

The lintel 14 extending across the door opening is provided with flangesl bolted or otherwise connected to the faces ofthe stiles. The frontface 16 of the lintel extends into the channel of the top frame and itsrear face 11 is provided with a top flange 16 extending over the flange65 of the molding.

In Fig. is illustrated a door frame construction designed to besubstituted for that shown in Figs. 3 and 7, in the event the front ofthe cabinet is to be faced with a tile, plaster or other wall surfacing8|. In the latter construction, the lintel, sill, and stiles differ fromthose illustrated in Figs. 3 and 7, largely in the provision of anadapter frame comprising extensions 82, 63 and 64 which projectoutwardly from the front face of the cabinet a distance suflicient toaccommodate the wall surfacing BI and to serve as a In addition, thelintel, sill and stile extensions 84 are provided with welded orintegral flanges 85 and 86 or their equivalent by which metal or otherlath 81 may be attached to the door frame. In the present instance, thewall surfacing comprises tile 88 laid upon a cement bed 89 carried bythe metal lath.

The screws The adapter frame is held rigidly in the tile 1 and cementwall surfacing 88 and 89 but is independent of the receptor and cabinetside walls so as to permit the latter to move relatively to the adapterframe and the wall surfacing itself in the event of settlement of thefloor on which the cabinet rests. This avoids cracking of the wallsurface which would occur (in the event of settlement) if the adapterframe were connected rigidly to the cabinet.

It will be understood that the surfaces of those cabinet walls which arecovered by a plaster or other wall surface need not have the enamelflnish which is provided for all exposed cabinet surfaces.

As described in greater detail in my co-pending application, Serial No.103,965, of which the present application is a division, the receptor isadvantageously finished in vitreous porcelain enamel to provide adecorative and contrasting eflfect. In the present instance, a specklecoat of contrasting color is applied in such away as to fall in largeseparated drops on the background coat. These spread to irregular andvarying areas 94 about of an inch in diameter and smaller and contrastwith the background coat 93 to give an attractive finish. The coarsestippling or speckled effect may be produced by lowering the airpressure on the spray gun so that the enamel is deposited in largespaced drops with only a limited number of fine drops. If a uniform orplain color be desired, the finished enamel may be sprayed on thereceptor in the usual, way. With either method of finish, the coat isdried and subsequently burned at about 1500 F. for about six minutes.

The receptor bottom may advantageously be made slip-proof by embeddingin its surface granular material such as fine silica sand which is fusedwith the enamel coat. In- Fig. 9, an attempt has been made to illustratethe sand particles and fine drops of enamel by dots 95, but it should beunderstood that exact illustration is impossible since the particles ofsand are relatively inconspicuous and are individually relatively muchsmaller than illustrated. It is also difiicult to illustrate therelative concentration of the sand particles but preferably theconcentration is greater than that illustrated, the effect being morelike fine sand paper except that the particles of sand arenot as sharpas in sand paper and not quite so concentrated. The application of thesand to the receptor does not render its appearance noticeably differentfrom what it would be had no sand been applied.

Obviously the invention is not limited to the details of theillustrative constructions since these may be variously modified.-Moreover, it is not indispensable that all features of the invention beused conjointly, since various features may be used to advantage indifferent combinations and sub-combinations.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A shower bath cabinet of the character described comprising incombination sheet metal side wall sections, the adjacent side flanges ofsaid sections being spaced apart and a joint strip covering saidflanges, a corner strip engaging the opposite faces of said flanges, anda locking device engaging said corner strip and said joint strip, andmovable longitudinally relative to both the corner strip and joint stripto draw said strips together to clamp said. flanges.

2. A shower bath cabinet comprising in come bination a receptor havingside walls provided with an inwardly extending shoulder, side wallsections carried by said receptor side walls, a joint strip covering theadjacent side margins of said sections,and means for holding said jointstrip tightly against said flanges, said strip having a projectionextending underneath said shoulder to hold said side wall sectionsagainst separation from said receptor.

3. A shower bath cabinet of the character described comprising incombination sheet metal side wall sections, the adjacent side flanges ofsaid sections being spaced apart and a joint strip coveringsaid flanges,a corner strip engaging the opposite faces of said flanges, said cornerand joint strips being provided with slots .and cam devices projectinginto said slots, and a locking strip movable longitudinally inengagement with said cam devices to draw said strips into tightengagement with said flanges.

4. A shower bath cabinet comprising in combination a receptor havingside walls, a horizontal channel strip inside said receptor side wallsand carried thereby, plastic sealing mainet side wall sections havinginwardly oflset lower margins seated in said channels, said sidesections having portions above said margins pro- Jecting inwardly of thelatter to overhang the inner face of said channel strip.

v5. .A shower bath cabinet comprising in combination a receptor,havingside walls, side wall sections carried by said receptor side walls, aJoint strip covering the adjacent side margins of said sections, saidstrip having a projection in engagement with the receptor to hold thestrip when in position against upward movement, and means operativeafter the strip has been placed in position and without movement of thestrip to force the latter into tight engagement with the margin of saidside wall sections, thereby holding the latter against upward movementrelative to said receptor.

6. A shower bath cabinet of the character described comprising incombination spaced sheet metal side wall sections, the adjacent sidemargins of said sections being inwardly oflset rela-- tive to the planeof their respective sections to provide inner and outer shoulders at theadjacent ofisets, an exterior Joint strip covering said margins andlying in the space between said out- 7 er shoulders and terminatingadjacent thereto, said offset being substantially equivalent to thehickness of said exterior joint strip so that the outer surface thereofis substantially. flush

